The Vietnamese national IPM programme has been implemented by
the Plant Protection Department (PPD), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, with FAO support since 1992. In 1994, the national programme
started developing curricula for training farmers in vegetable IPM. Currently, a
cadre of 158 vegetable IPM trainers are posted throughout the country. They have
facilitated 782 vegetable IPM farmer field schools (FFS) with FAO funding,
training approximately 20 000 farmers. Since 1996, Phase I of the FAO
intercountry programme for the development and application of integrated pest
control in vegetables in south and southeast Asia has been providing additional
technical assistance and financial support.

FAO has helped to develop a broad range of follow-up
activities for vegetable farmers who graduate from FFS. These follow-up
activities give IPM farmers an opportunity to continue learning, to solve more
production problems, and to gain skills that are useful for all sorts of
community-based, participatory development. Important among these follow-up
activities are:

Participatory
action research by farmers on IPM of vegetable diseases and on biopesticides,
with technical support from CAB international and Viet Nams national
institute of plant protection;

Biological control of
diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, in the central highlands by farmer
study clubs using the introduced parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum;
and

In collaboration with the FAO
community IPM programme, farmer studies on pesticides and health, to raise
vegetable farmers awareness about exposure to pesticide-related risks and
how these risks can be reduced.

Several donor- and NGO-funded vegetable IPM and pesticide
management projects now operate under the umbrella of the national IPM
programme, with coordination from PPDs IPM group and FAO-IPM in Hanoi.
Mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships are enriching the national
programme and offer opportunities for productive synergy between projects. The
national programme hopes to expand its present collaboration with the Viet Nam
Womens Union and the Viet Nam Farmers Union. Key initiatives for the
future include an FAO-supported IPM in schools initiative, special
certification, labelling, and marketing programmes for IPM and organic
vegetables, strengthening farmers skills for implementing scientific field
studies and participatory impact evaluation, and farmer research on biological
control of diamondback moth in lowland vegetables.

(ii) Progress and development of the FAO programme for
community IPM

The FAO programme for community IPM in Asia is the fourth
phase of the FAO programme for IPM in rice-based cropping systems in Asia which
began in 1980. Over this long history, the programme has progressed through
several stages:

Phase I (1980 to 1987) This phase focused upon the
verification of IPM technology and the development of pilot extension activities
with farmers plus strategic extension campaigns to promote IPM
understanding and application.

Phase II (1987 to 1993) The second phase of the programme
emphasized on a shift towards human resource development and saw the
introduction of season long training of trainers programmes and the now well
known IPM Farmer Field School approach. This approach was successful
in bring IPM to hundreds of thousands of farmers for the first time.

Phase III (1993 to 2000) During this phase the programme
focused upon the development of national IPM programmes based upon season long
training and farmer field schools. This period also saw the development of
various farmer led activities including farmer to farmer training,
farmer-led research, action research, health impacts research and other
innovative programmes. Large scale national programmes began in numerous
countries, such as Indonesia, India, Viet Nam, and Cambodia.

Phase IV The current, and last, phase of the programme is
called Community IPM due to the emphasis upon IPM by Farmers. In
this phase farmers have been the focus for a broad range of activities in member
countries. The programme has also succeeded in starting new, and innovative,
national IPM programmes in several member countries such as Nepal and
China.

Current status: a very thorough mid-term review was conducted
in late 2000. The review team concluded that the phase IV programme had been
highly successful. In fact, most quantitative targets for the entire 5 year
period had been met in the first 3 years of the project.

The emphasis of donors now is placed upon developing an
exit strategy that would ensure the sustainability of IPM
capabilities in member countries while building upon the broad and strong
foundations laid by the programme. New donors need to be brought in, and it is
recognized that many donors now work from a broadened livelihoods
framework where in agriculture is seen as key to the areas of natural resource
management, the development of civil society, and the creation of rural
institutions representing more effectively the interests of rural farming
majorities.

The first and foremost recommendation made by the mid-term
review was the establishment of an independent Community IPM
Foundation in the Asia region that would keep pushing new innovations and
maintain the strength of networks of farmers, trainers, and organizations.
supportive of IPM in member countries. As of this meeting, numerous steps have
been taken toward the development of this mixed-membership organization designed
to carry-on the work of the Community IPM programme. The development of this
organization is also based upon the fact that traditional donors have said that
it is time that stakeholders in the region commit to the sustainability of the
capabilities established through this programme.

FAO will maintain a crucial role in normative areas and in the
promulgation of specific projects in the region in areas such as policy and
regulatory development. The foundations main role will be to keep alive
the strong network of IPM farmers and IPM trainers as well as to serve as the
source of new information and innovations.

The phase IV FAO programme for Community IPM in Asia will
terminate by the end of 2002, if not before. It is essential that in the time
remaining an organization be put in place to capture all the gains and progress
made over the history of the programme such that the millions of IPM farmers in
the region can still be supported effectively.

(iii) Progress and development of the FAO programme for
cotton IPM

The EU-funded FAO programme on Integrated Pest Management
for Cotton in Asia (GCP/RAS/164/EC) has six member countries. These are
Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Philippines and Viet Nam. The Implementing
Agreement of the programme was signed in March 1999 for a scheduled duration of
five years. The total budget for the programme is US$ 12 million.

(iv) Programme objectives and progress

Development goal:

Sustainable, profitable and
environmentally sound production of cotton in the participating countries
through the development, promotion and practice of IPM by farmers and extension
staff

The immediate objectives of the cotton programme are as
follows:

1. To develop a cadre of cotton IPM facilitators from
existing extension or field plant protection staff to educate farmers in farmer
field schools (FFS).

Progress: Training of Facilitator (ToF)
activities started in China and India in 2000, and eight ToF are being
implemented in all member countries in 2001. It is planned to train 90 000
farmers in cotton IPM-FFS by the end of 2004. Maintaining high quality standards
while preparing for program expansion will be given special attention.

2. To promote co-operation for cotton IPM among
governments, research institutions, development agencies, extension services and
farmers and other non-governmental organizations and to improve access for all
interested parties to information from within and outside the programme
area.

Progress: In collaboration with the FAOs
global IPM facility, a general survey of the world-wide state of IPM is being
conducted. Furthermore, a newsletter and a website focusing on the development
of cotton IPM are planned. A farm-based study involving local Chinese agencies
and international collaborators is underway in China to investigate the impact
of Bt cotton at farm level. To assess the projects impact will include
special studies conducted by NGOs, research institutions and farmers.

3. National policies on plant protection re-oriented
to support IPM development in the six programme countries.

Progress: To provide credible evidence on the
potential impact of cotton IPM on the economic, natural, human and social
resources of the member countries, impact studies are being set-up as integral
parts of the programme. Such evidence will be supplemented by field results from
ToF and FFS. The FAO-EU cotton programme supports the emerging concept of
IPPM 2015 with its goal to replace persistent organic pollutants from the
cotton fields by the year 2015. It will participate by sharing information,
conducting experiments and encouraging policy changes towards a stronger role of
IPM in national plant protection policies.